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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Gili Trawangan | Snokerling in Gili Islands

You can get to Gili Trawangan via Lombok – Fly in to Lombok and a boat
ride to Gili Trawangan

Or you can get to Gili Trawangan via Bali (2 hours bumpy ferry ride) –
Fly in to Bali and a boat ride to Gili Trawangan

My advise : FLY TO LOMBOK. Unless you are a daredevil and hungry for
adventure, then by all means take the boat from Bali to Lombok and return. It
is an experience of a life time *wink*.

Having been to Bali 5 times, it is a big surprise to my friends that I
haven’t been to Gili Islands, not even to Lombok. The invitation by Tourism
Indonesia came at the right time as I was thinking of a quick getaway and wasn’t
sure whether Lombok and Gili would be a good choice (obviously I am way too
comfortable with Bali, it is practically my hometown). The trip to Lombok wasfull of culture, you can read more HERE. And Gili was… a lot of sea adventure.
If you are into outdoor, yeah… this place will be your heaven. But of course,
you can laze around as well. Plenty of place and space for you to do so.

Upon arriving on Gili Trawangan, I realised it is almost like a party
island. Pubs, bar, restaurant and message place is abundance, diving and snorkel
shops is at every corner. Basically, you will never be bored, hungry or
unadventurous. It is almost like, the locals in Gili forbid anyone coming to
their island be left idle. It’s a major no-no.

Ok. We got it.

Hence (whoever starts a sentence with ‘hence’, duh Lily!), Gili
Trawangan is also known as the ‘Mecca’ for backpackers during the 90s. Similar
to Goa, Penang, Krabi and many more, it is the famous Banana Pancake Trail that
a traveller/backpacker will pass by and stop for a long while before continuing
their journey. A term often use for Southeast Asia/Asia route where places such
as guesthouses, cafes and restaurants catering to backpackers/budget travellers,
and serving a quick and easy to make banana pancakes reminds them of their home
back in the west. Due to this reason, Gili Trawangan is the most populated and
developed of the nearby Gili islands, namely Gili Meno and Gili Air.

Feeding beach bum and holiday goers with its laid back guesthouses, cafes of every concept and theme, bars that caters for rave, reggae, rock and local music (dangdut?) and restaurant that feed you with delicacies from all over the world (well, almost) and activities that will keep you occupy during your stay here. And guess what? Cars and motorbikes are not allowed, simply to not disturb the peace in these Gili islands.

So, aside from lazing and sleeping (what I do best), I DID try to
venture into outdoor activities (yeah yeah… kid you not). I experience snorkelling
in Gili Trawangan thus missed the popular swing place (Yup! I did not cover the
swing hence don’t ask me for any pictures yah). I learnt that it is a favourite
spot for snorkeler and divers; Sponge Coral, Basket Coral, Turtle Point and etc
for snorkelers where else Manta Point, Shark Point, Senset Point and many more
are a great favourite among the divers; local and international.If you are into photography, make sure you have an action cam or an underwater cam to snap the coral, turtle, manta rays, nemos and etc photos. Else, do like what I did, get the photos from ThatSoFarah hehhehehe..... Thanks Farah!

For snorkelers, you can rent the snorkelling equipment from the
operators located by the beach area for IDR50,000 for half a day, you can also get
a guided snorkel tours that will cost roughly IDR75,000 a person. As for
diving, for a package of 5 guided boat dives around the Gili Islands will
probably cost around IDR2,205,000 or more.

Oh! Before I forgot, other than snorkelling, diving and the swing
thingy, you can also cycle the whole island, take the cidomo (horse carriage),
catch sunset from the hill, or even walk the whole island; by the beach
perimeter of the island, it should take you approximately two hours or so